The Member of Parliament for the North Tongu constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has expressed concerns about how certain individuals who reportedly absconded in Norway managed to forge documentation to acquire visas.
He raised questions about how the perpetrators gained access to the letterhead and other documents from the office of Samson Deen, the chairman of the Ghana Paralympics Committee, in order to carry out such fraudulent activities.
The outspoken MP emphasized that this deceitful act has damaged the nation’s reputation on the international stage and has also raised doubts about the credibility of Ghana’s embassies in granting visas to these individuals.
“We are now hearing from Samson Dean, the President of the Paralympic Association, that these are not genuine Paralympic athletes. How did they obtain his letterhead? How did they acquire documentation from his office? He claims they were forged.
“So, what has not been helpful in repairing the damage to our image is how we have handled these matters. These countries are aware that there are times when mistakes can happen,” Ablakwa stated during an interview with Joy FM.
He urged sporting associations and authorities to investigate the case thoroughly and punish the perpetrators severely to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“I expected that an inquiry would have been initiated by now. Everyone involved, from the sports ministry to the foreign ministry to our embassy, especially now that we have a fully operational embassy in Oslo. You may recall the delays following the scandal involving the purchase of the chancery building.
“But now that our mission is fully established, I find it hard to believe that they disappeared before reaching the airport. We need to know what really happened,” the MP added.
These comments come after the Chairman of the National Paralympics Committee (NPC), Samson Deen, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports finally addressed a peculiar report about Ghana’s Paralympics team absconding upon arrival in Norway to participate in the Fjordkraft Bergen City Marathon in Oslo.
Samson Deen, providing his perspective on the incident, denied any involvement and revealed that the letterhead submitted to the Norwegian embassy for visas contained forged signatures, mentioning the key figures in the scandal.
“After verifying the letter we received from the Ministry of Sports, we discovered that it was forged. When we reached out to them (Theodore Mawuli Viwotor, former Secretary-General of the Ghana Paralympic Football Association, and Ernest Ayisi, founder of Ernestay Foundation), I inquired about how they obtained my signature. They claimed that an individual named Adongo, based in Europe, had forged the letter and all the signatures,” he informed Joy Sports.
He clarified that the alleged Paralympic team that went missing in Norway had no connection to the NPC.
“They falsified my signature on the letter and applied for visas for individuals who are not associated with the Ghana Paralympic Team,” he explained.
